The Galton and Simpson Playhouse

Its rare for writers' names to be incorporated into the titles of their shows - even Johnny Speight never managed it - but by 1977, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson had engendered enough respect and affection from within the industry and general public for it to occur. Their faces were to be seen in the opening titles, with Ken Jones' brass-band signature tune incorporating the clicking of typewriter keys. The series got off to a magnificent start with 'Car Along The Pass', boasting Arthur Lowe in sparkling form as a pompous xenophobe trapped in a cable-car over the Austrian Alps with assorted foreign tourists. His opening line to wife Mona Washbourne summed up his character: "This is the worst holiday we have ever had...we have both spent over £18 each.". With 'Dad's Army' about to end, it looked as though Arthur had a potential solo hit on his hands, but it was not to be. None of the 'Playhouses' made it to series form, some such as 'Naught For Thy Comfort' and 'Variations On A Theme' seemed written purely as stand-alone affairs. 'Swap You One Of These For One Of Those' was a left-over from 'Casanova 73' ( hard to credit it now, but 'The Sun' complained before its broadcast that wife-swapping was not suitable for television! ). Another outstanding show 'I Tell You Its Burt Reynolds' featured Leonard Rossiter as a buffoon who becomes convinced he has spotted the macho movie star in a T.V. show. His madness escalates, and Rossiter turns in his best performance since Rigsby. 'Big Deal At York City' was good fun too, with Warren Mitchell as a lucky soul who's had a good day at the races, only to be preyed upon by card sharks on a train. Neat twist at the end. The seven shows were as good as any of their past work, had high production values, and were wonderfully cast. 'The News Of The World' invited readers to select the episode with the best series potential. What the result would have been we shall never know, because Alan Simpson retired suddenly, l

English
  • TheTVDB.com Series ID 72733
  • Status Ended
  • First Aired February 17, 1977
  • Recent April 7, 1977
  • Network ITV1
  • Average Runtime 25 minutes
  • Genres Comedy
  • Original Country Great Britain
  • Original Language English
  • On Other Sites IMDB TheMovieDB.com
  • Episode Screenshot Format 4:3 Screencap
  • Favorited This series has been favorited by 5 people.
  • Created February 4, 2008 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified February 4, 2008 by
    Administrator admin
Season From To Episodes
All Seasons
Specials 0
Season 1 February 1977 April 1977 7
Unassigned Episodes 0
Season From To Episodes
Season 1 February 1977 April 1977 7
Unassigned Episodes 0
Absolute ordering places all episodes in a single ordered season. This is generally used for anime.
Season From To Episodes
Season 1 0
Unassigned Episodes 7

No actors for this record.

Name Number of Episodes Dates
Alan Simpson 7 02/17/1977 - 04/07/1977
Ray Galton 7 02/17/1977 - 04/07/1977
Name Number of Episodes Dates
Ronnie Baxter 4 02/24/1977 - 03/31/1977
Vernon Lawrence 2 02/17/1977 - 03/03/1977
Len Lurcuck 1 04/07/1977

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